Day One
by MissFaerieKaiti
Summary: "If someone didn't do something soon, they were going to have a catastrophe on their hands." Shikamaru, Choji, and Kaida's - OC's - first day at the Ninja Academy, and boy is it fun - when you have the right people to share it with. OneShot, No Pairings.


**Whoop, another fic, yayz! 8D ...Even though I should be updating other stuffz... ^^;; I'm getting _way_ sidetracked, but oh well, I guess.**

**Okies, so anyways, this is how Shikamaru and Choji meet Kaida and they become friends~ This story is, like my last oneshot, dedicated to HistoryNerd and Neji and TenTen 4ever, both of whom keep asking for more Shikamaru/Kaida fics. I love you guys; I hope you enjoy it! I'm so flattered you guys like the pairing, even though this one has no romance in it. ;D xDD**

* * *

Choji looked around the room silently. He would have been somewhat nervous if he didn't have his best friend standing beside him. Shikamaru's lazy but half-interested expression kept Choji from making a big deal out of their first day at the Academy for ninja-in-training.

"Where do you want to sit, Shikamaru?" Choji asked cheerfully. He pulled out a bag of snacks that his mom had given him in case he got hungry. New environments made him hungry.

"Doesn't matter," Shikamaru answered. He chose a spot at random and sat down, and Choji took the seat next to him. They watched as several other children swarmed through the doors to the classroom and started talking loudly and excitedly with each other – especially the girls.

"I wonder who our teacher's going to be?" one kid said. Several others chimed in with guesses and hopes and I-don't-knows.

Choji silently offered Shikamaru some chips, but his friend declined.

Choji had just finished savoring the last bite when the first grown-up passed through the door. He wore a headband and standard teacher clothes, and there was a long scar across his nose, but Choji didn't give it much thought. Shikamaru's dad had two scars, after all. One wasn't all that impressive.

"Students, take your seats, please!" the sensei called.

Obediently, the kids sat down, many grabbing their friends to sit together. One of the girls sat down next to Choji, taking the only other available seat at that table. She had freckles scattered across her face, red hair that tumbled down past her shoulders, and green eyes.

She beamed an enthusiastic greeting over at Choji and Shikamaru, carefree and happy as could be. Choji couldn't help grinning back, and Shikamaru also returned with a smile.

"I'm Iruka-sensei, and I'll be teaching you how to become a ninja from this day on until you graduate," the teacher at the front of the room told them.

* * *

Kaida almost felt like giving up.

For the first twenty minutes of lunch break, she'd been trying to find someone nice to talk to. So far, though, she had a grand total of zero friends.

It seemed like most of the girls already had friends, and weren't interested in making another. And all the boys she had met so far had made it more than clear they weren't having some _girl_ for a friend, though Kaida had no idea what was wrong with it. They were all people, weren't they? All kids, all the same age, all in the same class, all striving to become ninja. What did it matter if she was a boy or a girl?

But after ten minutes of talking to people who didn't want to talk to her, Kaida scarfed down her lunch alone and then tried again with more of her classmates.

One boy, whenever she said something, would just grunt or give the shortest of answers. One of the girls would hardly even look at her, even though she didn't seem to be hanging out with any friends of her own.

Finally, Kaida saw the two boys she had sat next to that morning. One of them had brown hair and dark eyes, and he was still eating his lunch. The other, black-haired and, like the first, dark-eyed, must have finished his lunch already.

She walked up to them and tried to remember how to smile as happily as before she had been told so many times to get lost.

The plump brown-haired boy saw her first. He elbowed his friend and they looked at her expectantly.

"Hi, my name is Kaida!" she grinned.

"Shikamaru," said the boy with black hair.

"And I'm Choji," the brown-haired boy added.

That was better reception than most of the other boys (and girls, too, actually) had given her. Kaida's grin spread as she grew more hopeful. She sat down in the grass in front of where they sat.

Kaida pointed to Choji's huge lunch. "You eat a lot," she observed. The comment seemed to make Choji quieter, even though Kaida had intended it as a compliment. She needed to say something to make sure he knew that. She grinned. "I do, too. Food tastes so good, it's hard to stop!"

Choji smiled again and offered her part of his lunch. "My mom's a good cook," he told her.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "A much better cook than my mom," he said. "And nicer, too."

Kaida laughed and took a rice ball. She bit into it. And chewed. And swallowed.

Shikamaru and Choji watched, waiting for her reaction.

Her eyes grew wide and she devoured the rest of it quickly. "Wow, you weren't kidding! I thought _my_ mom was a good cook, but your mom's food is the most deliciousest I've ever tasted," Kaida declared.

Choji looked proud, and Shikamaru smirked.

She talked and laughed with Shikamaru and Choji for the rest of lunchtime, which ended way too soon.

Finally, Kaida had made not one, but two friends. It may take a little longer than just one lunch break to become close friends, but it was definitely a start, and she wouldn't give up.

* * *

If someone didn't do something soon, they were going to have a catastrophe on their hands.

Shikamaru watched helplessly as Kaida and Choji stared competitively at each other over the table. There was no way to stop them. So the best Shikamaru could do was make sure they didn't hurt themselves or each other.

Three, two, one...

"Go," Shikamaru told them.

Kaida and Choji broke apart chopsticks, positioned them in their hands, and snatched up some barbequed meat that had just finished cooking. They took only about a half a second to blow on their food before causing the meat to vanish.

Shikamaru sat back in the booth and watched, keeping track of who ate how much. After their first day of school at the Academy, they had decided to have supper together at the barbeque place. There had been some debate as to whose parents would take the three out to supper, but finally it was settled that Shikamaru's dad would be the adult escort and pay for the meal.

And Kaida had almost immediately challenged Choji to an eating contest, to which Choji could answer only with an enthusiastic 'yes'. And of course there was a wager on it. If Kaida won, she would have the right to hang out with Shikamaru and Choji. If Choji won, she would have to do everything he said for a week.

Shikamaru didn't think it much fair. Choji was bound to win. But he didn't say anything and he was quickly appointed judge and scorekeeper.

"They're really going at it," Shikaku observed.

Shikamaru half-grinned. "I can't imagine Kaida lasting too long. Nobody eats as much as Choji."

Nevertheless, Choji and Kaida were at the moment neck and neck and both were still going strong. Shikamaru figured it would be a while before things slowed down enough to where he could get a bite.

Fifteen minutes later, Shikamaru could hardly believe what his eyes were telling him. _Kaida_ was actually in the lead. Granted, it was just a slight lead so far, but she still showed no signs of getting full. He had underestimated her.

Shikamaru lost track of how much time passed after that. His concentration was on keeping track of how much each ate.

Finally, Kaida groaned and put down her chopsticks. "If I eat another bite, I'm going to explode," she announced.

Choji managed to gulp down one last piece of meat before setting his own chopsticks down. "I can't remember the last time I was so full," he said, though Shikamaru wasn't sure if he was complaining or content.

Shikaku smirked at his son, and Shikamaru knew why. His prediction had just been proven wrong.

"So who won, Shikamaru?" Kaida asked, grinning brightly.

"My every wish will be your command, Kaida," Choji smirked.

Shikamaru waited until they'd quieted, then said, "Kaida, looks like Choji and I's group of two has grown to three."

Kaida whooped, forgetting her miserably full stomach. "I won!" she hollered ecstatically.

Choji looked dumbstruck, then he grinned widely. "Congrats!" he told her.

Kaida got up to her knees on the bench so she could reach across the table to Choji, and she offered him a high-five, which he returned enthusiastically. "We have _got_ to do this again," she told him, grinning.

"I won't lose twice," Choji assured her.

Kaida laughed, then she turned and offered Shikamaru a high-five, too. "Thanks for keeping count for us!"

Shikamaru grinned and returned the high-five. "My pleasure."

Things were going to be interesting around here.

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*squee* Is it just me, or did this story turn out better than the last one? x3 It was totally hard figuring out what to have them do for Shikamaru's PoV and how to word it exactly, but someone gave me the first line, and the rest just flowed. x33!

**Anyways, hope you liked it! Please review for meh~! 8D**


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